OTTAWA — Canada’s foreign affairs minister has labelled Russia’s launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile Tuesday “provocative,” and has defended the federal government’s comparison of Russia’s actions in Ukraine to the Nazis invading Czechoslovakia before the Second World War.

In an exclusive interview with The Ottawa Citizen, John Baird nonetheless stopped short of saying how far Canada is willing to go to get Russia to stand down in the Crimean Peninsula.

Here’s a transcript of the conversation, edited for style and length:

Q: (Vladimir) Putin has indicated that the (crisis in Ukraine) was actually caused by U.S. and western meddling in Ukraine’s internal affairs – that that was what prompted the uprising and (Ukrainian president Viktor) Yanukovych’s leaving.

A: I think it was the people of Ukraine’s desire for freedom that was the root cause of all these problems. I don’t know a single person in the West who believes what Mr. Putin has said.

Q: He says the forces in Crimea are not Russian forces, that they’re local militia forces or local defence forces.

A: Do you know a single person in the world who believes him?

Q. You and the prime minister have compared the current situation in Crimea to the Second World War.

A: Well, one country can’t just simply militarily invade another because there are people who speak their language. I’m sorry. That may have worked in centuries past, but that doesn’t work in this century.

Q: The comparison you’ve made to Hitler’s invasion of the Sudetenland (in Czechoslovakia in 1938): Why make the comparison? It’s a very emotional comparison.

A: Because the facts are similar.

Q: Are there any other examples you could have made that didn’t have the same emotional baggage attached to it?

A: When one country invades a neighbouring country with that exact same pretext, it’s a fair comparison.

Q: Does it not further escalate the rhetoric and the tension?

Maybe some people think we should just say: ‘Well congratulations, Mr. Putin, on establishing another state within your country.’ I’m sorry, that’s not going to happen. The world is speaking strongly and powerfully. Canada is joining the entire G7 in condemning in no uncertain terms and demanding he withdraw his troops either out of the country or (to) their proper military bases. This is not acceptable.

Q: Is the government willing to go to war over this issue?

A: Listen, no one is talking about that. The government of Ukraine isn’t talking about foreign military intervention and the G7 isn’t, NATO isn’t. What we want to seek is a political and diplomatic solution to this. And it starts with Russia withdrawing its troops.

Q: Is there any negotiation as long as Russian troops are still within Crimea?

A: I’m just saying we want a political and diplomatic solution. We obviously want to put pressure on Russia for them to understand that their relationship with the free and democratic world will not be the same if it pursues this course of action.

Q: Russia announced on Tuesday that it has tested an intercontinental ballistic missile. First of all, what is your response to that, and how much does Russia’s nuclear arsenal play into the West’s response to whatever Russia does?

A: It’s provocative and unhelpful.

Q: And how much does Russia’s nuclear arsenal play into the calculation that Canada and our allies are making when it comes weighing our options?

A: Are we prepared to give a blank cheque to any country with a nuclear weapon? The answer is no.

Q: U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry and British Prime Minister David Cameron have openly discussed sanctions and visa bans. The Canadian government has refused to mention such actions. Why are we taking a softer line on the possibility of sanctions than our allies?

A: We’re not taking a softer line on it. What we’re saying is we need to take action collectively with our friends and allies. Obviously we’re working with fellow NATO members. We’re working with the (Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe) in Vienna. Working with the G7 on trying to take some co-ordinated action that expresses our anger and frustration at Putin’s and Russia’s moves.